Case Study – sparkling agile consumer insights before all the bubbles are set free!

The traditional way of approaching this consumer insight project would have been to run face to face focus groups, and stage in-home interviews to understand how the brand was invited and positioned in the home. The difficultly with this was that the cost to complete such a project would run into the multiples of tens of thousands of dollars, and would take considerable time to plan, execute and complete. This method was simply too costly and would not meet the required communications timeline – it would be all over before it had chance to begin.

This is where GroupQuality’s agile approach to market research using online insight collection methods was a perfect match for Vizeum Australia and SodaStream.

Background

The client, strategic media agency Vizeum Australia, approached GroupQuality to assist them with a major consumer research project. GroupQuality was chosen for their expertise in providing leading market research software and insight consulting services. The brief was to provide Vizeum Australia with strategic insight to help formulate the national media and brand communications strategy for SodaStream Australia. This required the development, management and analysis of eight simultaneous, online mini community discussions.

Previously, SodaStream Australia had conducted quantitative survey research to understand the Australian market. The research was effective in providing insights around the product category, brand and purchase motivators. But there were a number of knowledge gaps which could only be addressed through the use of qualitative community research and that’s where GroupQuality slotted in to the Vizeum team.

There were a number of strategic questions that needed to be answered for Vizeum Australia to be able to complete the development phase of the communication strategy. To answer these questions we need to get up close and personal with eight different consumer segments across a several Australian geographical locations.

Objectives

The following objectives had to be achieved:

To engage with and listen to a diverse and geographically dispersed target audience.

Observe, record and contextualise the use of various products in a customer’s daily life.

To delve into brand territories and identify a common brand personality for the target audiences.

Identify the key elements of a brand story that attracted new customers, created advocates and reinforced loyalty.

Method

From previous research and anecdotal evidence, we knew current customers were highly engaged with the brand. This accounted for half of the audience we needed to talk to. The other half of the target audience had not yet experienced the product, but had a need which was currently being fulfilled by substitute products.

These two segments, we will call Group A and Group B, were each split into four subgroups based on a set of household and lifestyle attributes.

We needed to talk to two broad consumer groups, each with four subgroups attached.

GroupQuality recruited a total of ninety-six participants and a number of reserves that we would be able to call on if we had participants pull out at the last minute.

Participants were located across all states in Australia. There was a twenty five to seventy five percent proportional split between male and female participants. In this particular product category we knew that the purchase decisions were predominantly made by the females in the household.

To take part in the project, there was a basic requirement that participants knew how to use a web browser. This requirement was device agnostic, as participants could participate using a PC, laptop or mobile device.

Participants would be rewarded for their contribution and an incentive was paid based on their daily participation in each of the required tasks.

The project took approximately four weeks to complete.

The community discussion

The project discussion was broken down into seven key tasks.

The first task participants had to complete was a homework exercise which required them to complete a visual diary which represented their lifestyle and family life. The participants were required to upload their homework into a private topic (diary) on the GroupQuality community discussion board. The visual imagery would be used to build a picture of each segment and identify segment image themes. We also wanted know how each interpreted their environment.

The home work exercise was also intended to cement a participants involvement. With those unable to complete the homework task being replaced by a reserve participant who could. From experience we knew that if they invested in the first homework project then they would be invested in the following six days.

Participants in each community group were required to log in and spend at least an hour completing the assigned task and discussing the outcomes.

The tasks were varied length and complexity. Using our own proprietary methods we made the activities as interesting and engaging as possible. The activities required participants to review media, create their own video content, and upload it into the discussion. There was a mix of open and private discussions, which was dependent on the personal nature of the content required from each participant.

Each online community had an average participation rate of approximately 90%. In total there were over one thousand comments created and close to a hundred media items uploaded by participants.

The short term nature of the community discussion enabled us to keep the momentum moving in the right direction and ensured participants were fully engaged in the subject matter.

Outcomes

Over the total project period participants invited us virtually into their homes. We gained insight into their thoughts, feelings and behaviours around the consumption of sparkling drinks.

Completion of the data collection process marked the start of an extensive qualitative data analysis. This included the coding of comments, imagery and videos. During the moderation of the eight community groups we used the GroupQuality inbuilt comment classification and tagging method. This assisted in the coding, filtering and analysis of the transcripts.

A language analysis was undertaken to reveal key phrases used when talking about the product experience.

A detailed sentiment analysis was also conducted, identifying points of positive and negative sentiment, in context of the customer’s brand experience.

We identified the behavioural triggers behind the SodaStream purchase decision, and overlayed this with the motivators for each of the eight sub groups. This added depth to the behavioural understanding and provided context for the purchase motivators, which were identified in the previous quantitative survey. Simply put, it added meaning to the numbers. This information would then be used to define the language and focus of the communication.

The project team defined the brand personality types consumers most strongly identified with. This data was then overlayed with a set of proposed brand concepts and communication styles in order to build a brand story which was consistent with the consumer’s expectation and experience.

We provided the client with a comprehensive presentation style report, which made it easy to identify key areas of action. We identified experiences and environmental factors which formed the brand story for each consumer group.

The report highlighted keywords, phrases, and concepts, which, when added into the communication strategy, would create positive and “memorable moments” for the brand. Moments which are imprinted in the hearts and minds of customer. These customers becoming brand ambassadors, facilitating word of mouth recommendations and ultimately sales.

GroupQuality® is a cloud based software and consulting service that helps you capture consumer insights, in less time, on smaller budgets and with fewer resources. If you need a fast and flexible tool to engage customers, employees and partners, to communicate, collaborate, ask questions and quickly capture the answers, then we are for you!

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